Welcome{IF ISEMPTY [Name] THEN "" ELSE ", " END IF} {IF ISEMPTY [Name] THEN "" ELSE [Name] END IF}{IF NOT ISEMPTY [Name] THEN ", " ELSE " " END IF} to Hereford eNews, your source of the most current news affecting Hereford breeders. We aim to focus on newsworthy events pertaining to the Hereford seedstock industry. Sponsored by the American Hereford Association (AHA). Information sent to subscribers comes from material available on Hereford.org or authored by AHA, Hereford World and Certified Hereford Beef (CHB) LLC staff.

Hereford Highlights

National Hereford Tour Registration Online

Hereford enthusiasts can now register online for the 2008 National Hereford Tour, “Rollin’ Through Dixie” scheduled for Tuesday, May 20, to Saturday, May 24.

Register now for the opportunity to experience Southern hospitality at its finest and see some of the breed’s leading genetics. Hereford breeders from Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama will host the four-day event.

Registration fees for the tour are $660 for single occupancy or $430 per person for double occupancy. This fee includes bus transportation, four nights of accommodations, food and the welcome reception at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Additional events may be purchased separately including the “Music on the Mountain” event for $100 per ticket, a ladies’ day tour for $75 per ticket and a Saturday night hotel stay in Nashville for $130 single occupancy or $65 per person for double occupancy.

"Music on the Mountain" To Benefit Youth

Hereford enthusiasts are invited to attend an evening celebrating Hereford youth May 23 in Ft. Payne, Ala. Tennessee River Music Inc. will host the event that will include live entertainment, dinner and auction. For more information and to order tickets, visit the Music on the Mountain Web site.

Nominate potential judges

The AHA Show and Sale committee invites Hereford breeders to submit names of people to be considered for the AHA-approved judges list. The committee will be meeting at the upcoming AHA April board meetings and will be reviewing the judges list at that time. Please submit your nominations to Joe Rickabaugh at jrick@hereford.org by April 4, 2008. It will be helpful to include the nominee’s address and phone number along with his/her name.

The approved judges list is distributed to state fairs and is also used when selecting judges for the six national shows. Thanks in advance for your help with this.

Scholarship applications revised

The American Hereford Women and the National Organization of Poll-ettes have combined five individual scholarship applications into one condensed application form. The John Wayne Memorial, Golden Bull Achievement, Future Cattleman, Ed Bible and Poll-Ette Founders Scholarships are now all in one application.

The deadline to submit the new scholarship application is May 1. This deadline applies to all awards and scholarships listed. All scholarships will be awarded at the Junior National Hereford Expo in July.

Also, for younger junior members don’t forget about the Prospect Awards too!

Make a Splash This Summer; Advertise in the July Hereford World

Deadlines for the July Hereford World are fast approaching. The 2008 issue is themed “Marketing 101.” It will contain the Hereford Handbook; Hereford Register; the basics and what’s new in marketing; and the “Who’s Who” of Hereford breeders. The early-bird advertising deadline is April 11 and the final deadline is May 9. Take this opportunity to splash your program on Hereford World readers! For more information, contact your field representative, Joe Rickabaugh at jrick@hereford.org or Amy McCrea at amccrea@hereford.org. Rickabaugh and McCrea can also be reached at (816) 842-3757.

Whether You Are Coming or Going, Don’t Miss the Hereford Register

The fourth edition of the Hereford Register will be published as a special section in the July 2008 Hereford World. These “yellow pages” of Hereford breeders throughout the U.S. and Canada will include basic listings of July 2008 advertisers with a quarter-page or larger ad and July 2008 seedstock advertisers.

Hereford Register listings include: name, address, telephone, e-mail and Web site. Listings can be purchased for $50 if you are not a July advertiser meeting the aforementioned specs. Listings are organized by state, then alphabetically by ranch or farm name. Seedstock ads are added at the end of the section, available for $350 per inch per year.

The section will be printed on special paper and bound in the magazine. Reprints will be available upon request.

For more information, contact your field representative, Joe Rickabaugh at jrick@hereford.org or Amy McCrea at amccrea@hereford.org. Rickabaugh and McCrea can also be reached at (816) 842-3757.

Make Sure You’re in the Hereford Handbook

Hereford Publications Inc. (HPI) has sent e-mails to state Hereford and women’s association secretaries to request information for the Hereford Handbook in July’s Hereford World. By submitting your association’s leadership and event information, you ensure that Hereford World readers are accurately informed of your state’s activities. If you are the secretary of your association, and did not receive such an e-mail, please fill out the appropriate form linked below and submit by March 21 via fax, e-mail or mail, using the following contact information:

Hereford Spring Cow Herd Inventory Deadline Extended

Due to the challenging winter weather conditions experienced across much of the country, the AHA has extended the spring cow herd inventory deadline one month from March 15 to April 15. AHA encourages all breeders enrolled in Total Performance Records to turn in their active cows and bulls to the AHA by the deadline to avoid a $2-per-head increase in the cow inventory fee charged.

If you need another copy of your cow and bull inventory report, contact the AHA records department.

Hall of Fame, Merit Nominations Due May 1

Nominations for the Hereford Heritage Hall of Fame and Hereford Hall of Merit are due May 1.

The Hall of Fame honor recognizes Hereford breeders who’ve dynamically influenced the direction and advancement of the Hereford breed. Hall of Merit recipients aren’t necessarily Hereford breeders, but have in their own ways greatly influenced the Hereford breed and the cattle industry.

For information on how to nominate deserving individuals for the 2008 induction at the AHA Annual Meeting in November, see page 18 of the March Hereford World or contact Mary Ellen Hummel at (816) 842-3757.

Junior Associations Contact Info Needed

The AHA youth activities department needs current officer information for all state junior associations with complete addresses and telephone numbers. You may also want to include officer and advisor e-mail addresses if available. We are working on mailings for important summer activities and have received very few updated lists this year.

Complete and mail the form linked below or e-mail the information to Chris Stephens at cstephens@hereford.org. We also need current information for all state advisors. Advisor manuals will be mailed in March to all current junior state advisors.

Summer and Regional Shows Approaching Fast

Summer and regional junior show information must be submitted to the AHA by March 1. For those in the process of planning these events please complete and mail the form linked below or e-mail the information to cstephens@hereford.org.

WCA/WSU Bull Test 120 Day Progress Report

The 15th Annual Washington Cattleman’s Association sponsored WCA/WSU Bull Test has issued a progress report for the first final test period of their 120 day feed test. The test is being conducted at the Washington State University (WSU) Research Center at Prosser. One hundred seventy-nine bulls were tested this year, including Hereford, Angus, Red Angus, Simmentals, ChiAngus, Gelbvieh and Balancers. Final test data was taken March 5.

The Herefords had an average daily gain (ADG) of 3.39 lb. and an average weight per day of age of 3.21 lb. The top indexing polled Hereford was a Jan. 4 son of WSF LCR RCR Onstar 23N ET consigned by Nordlicht Herefords, Addy, Wash. His ADG was 3.90 and his WDA was 3.72, which was the top WDA. He also was the heaviest bull off test at 1,580 lb.

The second top-gaining polled Hereford was a March 24 son of TCW Red Obsidian M326-412R consigned by Lewis-Irwin Farms, Enumclaw, Wash., that gained 3.91 lb. per day.

The top-indexing horned Hereford and highest ADG of the nine horned bulls was 3.92 lb. per day on a March 1 son of WDR 1112 Spokane Blaze 447 consigned by Dusty Coyote Ranch, Medical Lake, Wash.

Second highest ADG for the horned Herefords was recorded by a Feb. 18 son of OT Advance 467 consigned by Ottley Herefords, Quincy, Wash., that gained 3.50 lb. The top WDA of the horned Herefords was 3.39 lb. recorded by a Jan. 2 son of WSF LCR RCR Onstar 23N ET consigned by Nordlicht Herefords.

The sale is scheduled for March 26 at the WSU Research Center at Prosser.

Cattle OutlookGlenn Grimes and Ron Plain, University of Missouri-Columbia

Cost of Production Still a FactorTom Field, Colorado State University Department of Animal Science

Cost of production has taken a back seat in many discussions about the cow-calf business during the past several years during which the industry has enjoyed record high prices. However, cost control is critical to profits (Table 1). Across a variety of environments, differences in production costs describe the vast majority of the differences between the highest and lowest profit enterprises. Differences in annual cow costs have a significant impact on calf breakeven prices (Table 2).

Low-cost producers in the NCA-IRM-SPA database were requested to identify the primary factors that determined their low breakeven prices and their responses were as follow:

Reduce harvested and supplemental feed costs (40%)

Use rotational grazing (better pasture management) (30%)

Use the right genetics (27%)

Reduce labor costs (25%)

Implement a strong herd health program (19%)

Most low-cost producers have reduced their feed costs by increasing the number of days cows graze while decreasing the amount of harvested and purchased feed fed per cow. Extending the grazing season and feeding less hay or harvested feed has been accomplished primarily by:

Matching calving season with green forage production.

Extending the green grazing through intensive and rotational grazing systems.

Improving range/pasture forage production and utilization through burning, reseeding, inter-seeding, and grazing a mixture of grasses and legumes where possible.

If you know of someone who would be interested in receiving Hereford eNews please submit their email address to eNews@hereford.org.

You have the right to unsubscribe from this list at any time. If you would like your name excluded from future mailings of this news update, please reply to this e-mail with the word "REMOVE" in the subject line. If you have questions about this service or if you would like to give us an opinion or suggestion regarding its usefulness, content, recommendations for improvement, etc., we would like to hear from you. To let us know what you have to say, simply send an email to eNews@hereford.org. For more information about the purpose of this electronic news update, read our privacy statement.